This invention relates generally to apparatus for cleaning rust, sludge, hardened concrete, and other unwanted materials from the interior surfaces of pipes. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus of this type which is transportable to a field location where sections of pipe are to be cleaned.
In many industrial applications, but particularly in the drilling and production of oil, interconnected sections of metal pipe are used for the transportation of various materials. In oil drilling, pipes often serve multiple purposes, such as carrying water or other lubricant to the drilling face, carrying oil from the drill hole, or carrying concrete which is pumped down the pipe for various purposes. In such environments, the interior walls of the pipe inevitably become encrusted with rust, sludge, or hardened concrete. Moreover, some paraffin-base oils leave a waxy coating on the pipe. Since most chemical cleaners which will dissolve or remove the unwanted material from the pipe are also harmful to the metallic pipe material, mechanical cleaning methods are usually preferred. Typically, pipe-cleaning machines of the prior art have required that a section of pipe be rotated on its longitudinal axis, and advanced over a cutting tool of some kind. Machines of this general type are inherently unsafe to operate, because of the long rotating sections of pipe, and are often unable to handle even slightly bent pipes. Attempts to clean bent pipes using machines of the prior art often resulted in removal of pipe material as well as the unwanted material from inside the pipe. Consequently, machines of this type often also include a pipe-straightening device.
It will be apparent from the foregoing that there is a definite need for an improved pipe-cleaning machine which can be operated with relative safety, which is transportable for use in the field, and which can handle slightly bent sections of pipe without removal of pipe material or pre-straightening of the pipe. The present invention fulfills this need.